Dictionaries :: Nothing

International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia

Nothing:

nuth'-ing (lo', lo' @me'umah, etc.; medeis, oudeis): "Nothing" is represented by various words and phrases, often with lo', which is properly a substantive with the meaning of "nothing." Most frequently we have lo' me'umah, "not anything" (Ge 40:15; Jud 14:6).

Other forms are lo' dhabhar, "not anything"; (Ge 19:8); lo'khol, "not any(thing)" (Ge 11:6; Pr 13:7); la' (Aramaic), "no," "nothing" (Da 4:35, "as nothing"); ‘ephec, "end," "cessation" (Isa 34:12); bilti, "without," "save," "not" (Isa 44:10; Am 3:4); ‘ayin, "there is not" (Isa 41:24); once, tohu, "emptiness" (Job 6:18); bal mah, "not anything" (Pr 9:13); chinnam, "free," "gratis" (2Sa 24:24); ma‘at, "to make small," "bring to nothing" (Jer 10:24); raq, "only" (Ge 26:29); le'al, "for nothing" (Job 24:25).

In 2 Macc 7:12, we have "nothing," adverbially (en oudeni), "he nothing regarded the pains" (compare 1Ki 15:21); 2 Macc 9:7 (oudamos), the Revised Version (British and American) "in no wise"; The Wisdom of Solomon 2:11, "nothing worth" (achrestos), the Revised Version (British and American) "of no service"; Baruch 6:17,26.

For "nothing" the Revised Version (British and American) has "none" (Ex 23:26; Joe 2:3), "never" (Ne 5:8), "not wherewith" (Pr 22:27), "vanity and nought" (Isa 41:29); for "answered nothing" (Mr 15:5), "no more answered anything"; "answered nothing" in Mr 15:3 is omitted; "anything" for "nothing" (1Ti 6:7), "not anything" (Ac 20:20), "not" (1Co 8:2), "no word" (Lu 1:37), "not wherewith" (Lu 7:42); for "to nothing" (Job 6:18), "up into the waste"; for "it is nothing with" (2Ch 14:11), "there is none besides," margin "like"; for "lacked nothing" (1Ki 4:27), "let nothing be lacking," for "nothing doubting" (Ac 11:12), "making no distinction"; for "hoping for nothing again" (Lu 5:35), "never despairing"; for "are nothing" (Ac 21:24), "no truth in"; for "nothing shall offend them" (Ps 119:165), "no occasion of stumbling"; for "bring to nothing" (1Co 1:19), the English Revised Version "reject," the American Standard Revised Version "bring to nought"; "nothing better" for "no good" (Ec 3:12), for "not" (Mt 13:34, different text), for "no man" (Ac 9:8), "for nothing," for "free" (Ex 21:11); "miss nothing" for "not sin" (Job 5:24), margin "shalt not err"; "and shall have nothing" for "and not for himself" (Da 9:26, margin "there shall be none belonging to him").

Written by W. L. Walker

Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words

Nothing:

the neuter of oudeis, "no one," occurs, e.g., in Mat 5:13; 10:26; 23:16; adverbially, e.g., in Mat 27:24; 2Cr 12:11 (1st part), "in nothing;" 1Ti 4:4; in the dative case, after en, "in," Phl 1:20. Westcott and Hort adopt the spelling outhen in Luk 22:35; 23:14; Act 15:9; 19:27; 26:26; 1Cr 13:2.

Nothing:

the neuter of medeis, "no one," is related to No. 1, in the same way as the masculine genders are; so with the negatives ou and me, "not," in all their usage and connections (see under NO MAN). Thus it is found, not in direct negative statements, as with No. 1, but in warnings, prohibitions, etc., e.g., Mat 27:19; Act 19:36; in expressions conveying certain impossiblities, e.g., Act 4:21; comparisons, e.g., 2Cr 6:10; intimating a supposition to the contrary, 1Ti 6:4; adverbially, e.g., 2Cr 11:5, "not a whit." Westcott and Hort adopt the spelling methen in Act 27:33.

Nothing:

"not," is translated "nothing" in Luk 8:17; 11:6; 1Cr 9:16; 2Cr 8:15 (in each case, an absolute and direct negative).

Nothing:

"not," is translated "nothing" in Jhn 6:39 in a clause expressing purpose; in the AV of Luk 7:42 (RV, "not"), in a temporal clause.

Nothing:

followed by the subjunctive mood, "(have) nothing (to eat)," lit., "(they have) not what (they should eat)," in Mat 15:32 (in some mss. in Mar 6:36); Mar 8:2; the phrase conveys more stress than the simple negative (No. 3).

Nothing:

followed by the subjunctive mood, "(they had) nothing (to eat)," RV, "(having) nothing (to eat)," AV, lit., "not (having) what (they should eat)," in Mar 8:1; the negative is me here because it is attached to a participle, "having;" whereas in No. 5 the negative ou is attached to the indicative mood, "they have."

Nothing:

lit., "not anything," not used in simple, direct negations (see under NO MAN), occurs in Jhn 6:12 in a clause of purpose; in 1Cr 4:5, in a prohibition.

Nothing:

"not even anything," is found in 1Ti 6:7 (2nd part); it is a more forceful expression than the simple ouden in the 1st part of the verse, as if to say, "it is a fact that we brought nothing into the world, and most certainly we can carry out not even the slightest thing, whatever we may have possessed.

Notes:

(1) For "nothing" in Luk 1:37, AV see WORD, No. 2 (RV).

(2) In Jhn 11:49 the double negative ouk ("not")... ouden ("nothing") is translated "nothing at all."

(3) In Act 11:8 pan, "everything," with oudepote, "not even ever," is rendered "nothing... ever," RV, AV, "nothing... at any time."

(4) In 1Cr 1:19, AV, atheteo, "to set aside, make void, reject," is translated "I will bring to nothing" (RV, "will I reject").